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Excuse my shouty capitals, but this is a post that I feel very strongly about.

Our baby-cat Barney spent a couple of days in the kitty hospital over the weekend after coming into contact with a bunch of lillies. I had been given them as a gift and had a vague idea that they were harmful to cats so put them somewhere which I thought was out of the little one’s reach. I came home from work on Friday to find a big orange smudge on his head. It took me a while to work out what it was, but when I did finally connect it up to the lilly pollen, I thought I’d better call the vets for a bit of advice. I was shocked to be told to bring him straight in. They admitted him and kept him on a drip for 24 hours.

So what are the facts about cats and lillies?

1 – All parts of the lilly flower and plant are poisonous to cats, including the leaves, petals and pollen.

2 – After a cat ingests lilly toxin, they can develop acute kidney failure and die within 3-6 days

3 – Without prompt treatment, most cats who come into contact with lillies die, or need to be put down.

4 – If a poisoned cat receives treatment from a vet within 18 hours, most will recover

Early signs of contact with lillies include vomiting, increased thirst, loss of appetite and lethargy.

I have learnt a valuable lesson and there needs to be more awareness of the risk these beautiful and common flowers pose to our feline friends, so please help me spread the word. Tell your friends, don’t buy lillies for anyone who owns a cat, and get your cat to a vet if they show any of the symptoms listed above.